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Download AudioMiddlemore Hospital is being stretched to the limits as the winter rush comes early.
Counties Manukau chief medical officer Andrew Connolly says wards are overflowing and people are having to bed in corridors.
Nursing staff are being asked to work inwards they are not usually in to provide essential care.
He says there’s a combination of illnesses.
“We are seeing a small amount of Covid still requiring admission into hospital. We’re seeing some influenza and other winter-type illnesses but we are also seeing just high volumes of all the other things people need care for, and it has come at a time when we are still under significant staffing pressures,” Dr Connelly says.
The situation is not unique to Middlemore but it’s a real challenge, with staffing plans reassessed daily.
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